Rugby

The best ever? Coates miracle try with final play to break Warriors hearts in stone cold classic

March 16, 2024

Xavier Coates has stolen the victory in the most spectacular style possible for Melbourne, landing one of the all-time great finishes to deliver a dramatic 30-26 victory over the New Zealand Warriors.

With the game on the line, the Storm spread through hands and found Coates ten from the line, with the PNG Kumul taking to the air from well in the field, throwing his entire body outside the touchline amid contact from Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, with only the ball in the field of play.

It was devastating for the Kiwis, who had themselves produced an epic comeback to turn an 18-6 deficit at the break into a 26-18 lead, only for Ryan Papenhuyzen, then Coates, to dash their hopes.

This is the 15th straight defeat for the Warriors against the Storm, and none could have been more heartbreaking.

Prior to Coates’ intervention, it had been Roger Tuivasa-Sheck who was set to be the big story. The returning superstar had come up with a piece of magic of his own, catching a high kick and offloading in one motion for Jackson Ford to spark the comeback.

Andrew Webster has now seen his side go 0-2 without doing a great deal wrong. Indeed tonight, they did plenty right and will take a heap of positives.

Craig Bellamy, as ever, will ask for more – not that he can from Coates. That’s about as good as it gets.

No Cameron Munster, no problem

The spine is really the trump card for Melbourne, with arguably the best in the comp across all four positions.

Within that, there’s an argument that Cameron Munster is the best of the lot, and without him, it’s always going to be a little weaker.

Lucky for Bellamy, he has seen the other three step up massively.

Munster and Hughes play hybrid roles in the halves, with neither confined to the traditional 6 and 7 jobs, which does assist when one is missing.

Hughes runs a lot more than the average halfback and stepped up that side of his game, with Jonah Pezet, who has generally played at 7 in the lower grades, more than capable of taking on organisational duties.

On top of that, Ryan Papenhuyzen is growing in the NRL every week, crossing the stripe here and impressing in all the ways that he used to: quick off the mark, challenging on the edges and threatening with the ball.

Throw in Harry Grant and it’s no wonder that the Storm fired themselves to another win.

It’s interesting from a tactical perspective because, beyond the spine, this isn’t that star-studded a side.

Nelson Asofa-Solomona is still missing. Christian Welch and Tui Kamikamica are solid but diminished on what they were a few years ago. There’s more than a few youngsters, like the excellent Joe Chan and Alec MacDonald.

That Melbourne remain this good is a tribute to Bellamy’s style. He’s always managed to empower his best players and raise the floor with everyone else.

Now, even with two huge stars out, it doesn’t drop at all. It’s why they remain among the very best.

Welcome back, Roger

The NRL world had been waiting for Roger Tuivasa-Sheck to do something spectacular, and in the 50^th minute, it happened.

It wasn’t, like many might have expected, a jinking run or a spectacular finish. Instead, it was a high-flying catch followed by a miracle offload that got Jackson Ford over the line and changed the face of the whole game.

That’s the thing about Roger: few can match him for moments, and simply making things happen around him.

That’s not to say that he didn’t also bring his running game.

Refashioned as a centre, he has shown a huge appetite for the less glamourous parts of the job, averaging over 10m per carry and proving a constant handful to bring to ground.

Many might have taken the injury to Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad as an opportunity revert RTS to fullback, but instead, Webster trusted youngster Taine Tuaupiki and was richly rewarded.

Though small in size, he showed superb evasion with the ball and regularly broke the first tackle from kick returns, buying his side the chance to start sets.

It might have been a gamble, put it is paying off.